Indians in ISIS captivity: What really is their fate?

Where are the 41 Indians who have been taken hostage by the ISIS? The Government of India has maintained that all of them are safe and all attempts are made to secure their release. The families of these hostages are however getting impatient and say that there is no information regarding their loved ones.

It has been over an year since 39 Indians went off the radar after being abducted by the ISIS at Mosul, Iraq. Recently four teachers were abducted from Libya, but only two returned home. The other two from Hyderabad continue to be in ISIS captivity.

What is the fate of the 41 Indians?

Highly placed sources tell OneIndia that all of them are safe. There is no cause for concern where their safety is concerned and all efforts are being made to secure their release. It is taking time as regular conflicts crop up and this hampers the negotiations.

There have been several occasions when contact has been established, but talks break down due to the conflict, the source also informed.

What the Indian government has learnt is that in many cases, the ISIS is not willing to let go off the hostages. Their abductions too are strategic and very often they tend to target skilled workers.

The ISIS needs workers, teachers, nurses and even doctors and hence they abduct them and continue to keep them hostage, the official also informed.

Take the case of the nurses who were in the captivity of the ISIS last year. As per the account given by one of the nurses, the commander of the ISIS told her that she should return to Iraq as their services are needed.

Despite all the nurses being released and sent back to India, most of them returned to Iraq are sometime.

The fate of the 39 Indians in ISIS captivity

In the month of June 2014, 39 Indians were abducted by the ISIS. All of them are construction workers and have been in captivity for over a year now. The government has on several occasions managed to make contact with the captors through various sources.

At times the talks appeared to be yielding results, but then a fight breaks out in Iraq which leads to the breaking down of negotiations.

All the 39 Indian construction workers could be working in Iraq. The ISIS needs hideouts, bunkers and houses for their fighters and the Indians may well be asked to undertake these jobs, a source informed.

As pointed out earlier, the ISIS needs skilled workers and hence do not let go of the people they abduct, the official also says. There are hardly any instances where the ISIS has harmed Indians and hence we are confident that the hostages are absolutely safe.

Where are the two teachers?

A month back the Indian government had almost succeeded in their negotiations. Four teachers- 2 from Karnataka and two from Hyderabad were abducted at Sirte in Libya.

The two teachers from Karnataka were released. The government was able to establish contact in less than 48 hours of their abduction and also secure their release.

However there was a delay in securing the release of the other two teachers as communication broke down. There has been conflict in Sirte and parts of Libya and hence the communication has broken down. However in this case too the government assures that there is nothing that suggests that the two teachers have been harmed.

There is every chance that the two teachers are being held captive as the ISIS wants to use their services. The ISIS when it takes captives always tell them that they should embrace Islam and be good Muslims.

The two teachers from Karnataka too were told the same and before setting them free were instructed to pray 5 times a day after reaching India.

In the case the two Hyderabad based teachers similar instructions would be given, but there is also a chance that the ISIS has held them back so that they could teach children English. The ISIS has an army which lives with their families.

They are in need of teachers to educate the children of their fighters and hence have been slow in letting the two teachers from Hyderabad go, sources further point out.